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Hey! I was accepted too and I am SO excited :-) I live in south Florida so it won't be a far move for me, plus I lived in the near area when I went to UM for my BSN. I will be looking for a roommate, but they must like really cool friendly cats (I used to be a vet tech before I transitioned to humans). I did anesthesia on cats/dogs at a state of the art vet clinic which is where I found my love for anesthesia and decided to start on this journey to do it on humans now. What kind of questions do you have that I may be able to help with???
~Michelle

Hey!! I'm really nervous!!! I don't know anything about the area!! Would it be better to live in an apartment?? Or on campus?? Where would you live at? A lot of questions.... My name is Tom good to meet a future classmate!

Hi. Congratulations! I too was accepted and will be moving from PA. I have family in North Miami/Aventura area but that is too far for me to commute especially w/ Miami traffic. I'm not really familiar w/ the areas around FIU but I'll ask my family where the best places to rent near campus are.

I interviewed on Friday, I was wearing a bright coral top amongst everyone in black, lol!!! I will planning to rent an apt off campus as I have feline friends joining me. You will be spending at least half the time at hospitals up to 30-45 min away so I think a 10 mile radius away from campus would work. Living on campus you may be able to meet more people but I have gotten used to having my own place, hopefully with a classmate for a roommate. Plus, it will be quieter for studying. Luckily I live close enough that I can easily tour some places when it gets closer to August. I rented an apt in a converted house in Coral Gables (about 9 miles east, super nice area, miracle mile just down the street with restaurants n stores, traffic soso) and contacted the landlord to let him know I would be interested in renting from him again there or at another of his properties. Renting in a converted house over an apt complex is something to consider as well. Anything just near the campus is pretty safe I would say. Commuting from Aventura/Miami area would be tough!!!!!! You 2 choose FIU in looking to move to warmer weather :-) ? August feels soooo far away! Still a little too early to apt hunt yet, but a good time to start making connections with classmates and potential roommates!!! I will be able to furnish the entire apt except my potential roommate's bedroom of course. I will be looking for a place within 10 miles of campus with all wood/tile type flooring and cheap as possible but still safe and with enough room. I am very easy going, responsible, non smoker/drinker, open minded, goofy/silly, not a partier but can still have fun, love to cook and eat, love tv/movies and my very friendly cats. I have lived with many roommates over the year and you are more than welcome to use them as references for me or my cats :-) Interested in talking more about rooming or not, let's continue to chat! I can also keep you posted when I start touring potential places. Let me know if you plan to come down to the area in future to tour as well as we can meet up then, I live in Boynton Beach, FL. Anyway, enough for now. m.midthun@umiami.edu

What led you guys to choose to do anesthesia? What is your background? Here is my story:
I got my BA Biology from UNC-CH intending to go on to become a veterinarian, but found the nursing aspect more appealing to me. I had been working in vet field since I was 15! So, I then moved to Clearwater FL to got SPC to get my AS Veterinary Technology in order to become licensed as a vet tech. After graduating there moved to Fort Lauderdale area (where I had grown up till I was 8) where I got a job in a specialty animal hospital in the surgery department basically working as an anesthetist (and radiologist, picc nurse, wound care nurse, lab tech, or nurse, etc) for cats/dogs for 3 years and fell in love with anesthesia (and acquired a few cats :-P). I was using all of the same drugs/equipment for same type surgeries (laparoscopic, orthopedic, neuro, cardio, soft tissue, etc) as they do on humans. So, when the economy tanked and moral dropped at work, I had an epiphony that I could be doing anesthesia on people as a CRNA with more opportunities, money, and with a more depth of knowledge in anesthesia through school. SO, went to UM for the the accelerated 1 year BSN, did 1 year on tele, then moved into ICU. After 11 months I applied at FIU and GOT IN!!! This has been a dream in the making for over 3 years when I made the decision to transition to human nursing. Granted it has not been an easy journey getting here but I of all people know that life is not easy and it takes determination to make things happen! Anesthesia is what I love and I cannot wait to start doing it again and learning more about it :-)
What are your stories?

Congratulations on getting into the program!! I am a junior in the FIU CRNA program (if you interviewed on Thursday you might have seen me in one of the interview groups). I am grateful to upperclassmen who gave me advice on this website when I was in your shoes, so I'm trying to pass it on.
Just a reminder when you choose where you are going to live... you will only go to the school campus a maximum of 2 times per week, but you will be going to clinical up to 4 times per week during the program. The class ahead of you lives all over. There are several that live close to the school, but I'd say most are not as close as you'd think. At least 10 of us (including myself) live in the Hollywood/Pembroke Pines/Miramar area, and drive down the turnpike to school. We actually have 2 students that live in Palm Beach county, but that is because they already have homes there. Driving is just something you'll have to deal with and get used to around here. One advantage is that we go places early - currently I have to be at the hospital at 6am, so I am ahead of rush hour traffic. I'm not from here, so there are probably others that can give better advice about specific locaations, but I just wanted to getting you thinking about where you'll spend the majority of your time...

Hey! I sent my acceptance letter in and my check has been cashed, but no return emails from Mairelys about any further info. I haven't really begun housing search yet bc it's still so early and a lot of landlords won't know if tenants are vacating yet. I am still searching for a roommate though, not much on FIU roommate finder site though. I wonder if there will be a class mailing list to reach out to perhaps?